More than 25 Naga jawans have been admitted to the dengue ward of the state-run RIMS hospital here after complaining of fever, headache and vomiting. Silang Thu, who lies sprawled on a blanket in the ward said, “I have headache and feel like vomiting.”
For the past month, the 13 IRB jawans were deputed in the Tamar (ST) constituency on poll duty. They were successful in their mission as the polls held there on December 2 passed off peacefully. But Tamar, apart from being infested with Maoists, is a malaria prone belt dotted with green hills and forest where there is no potable water, reported the Indian Express.
“We had heard that this area was the den of Maoists. We did not see them anywhere. But the schools where we were lodged, were full of mosquitoes. There was no potable water. We used to drink water from the hand pump after boiling it, but this did not help,” complained Thu.
Although their test reports are not ready, most of them are suspected to be down with malaria. “Most of them had shivering, fever and headache, a clear symptom of malaria. Some may have viral fever, typhoid and jaundice,” RIMS’ medicine ward physician Dr J K Mitra said.
“There were many who were down with fever in the schools-turned-barracks, in the forest in the state. They are yet to be brought and admitted here,” said Isato Mu, another soldier admitted at RIMS.
“They found it difficult to adapt to the climate of Jharkhand. Since nobody cared to provide them a dossier of do’s and dont’s before deploying them in this state, they are suffering,” said a senior IPS officer.
Meanwhile, according to TNN report, around 13 personnel of Naga Battalion-13 rushed to RIMS on Friday. Around 27 security personnel were admitted on Thursday night.